Along Came Polly - John Hamburg Q&A

Compiled by: Jack Foley

Q. Where did the idea for the movie come from; why this to
lure you back into the director's chair? And how did you come
to cast Jen and Ben?
A. The movie started on a vacation I took to the island of
St Bart's, in the Caribbean with my girlfriend. We were sort of
sun-tanning on the beach and then this handsome, naked Frenchman
walked by us.
You know, my mind started spinning and I was imagining what the
worst thing that could happen to me on this vacation would be,
if my girlfriend had run away with this guy. Everything sort of
steam-rolled from there...
I directed my first movie, which was an independent film, and
then I wanted to learn a little more about the Hollywood movie-making
system. I got a chance to work with some really great directors,
and work on some projects I was really proud of, so then I felt
it was time to make another movie, and did that with Along Came
Polly.
There are very few people who have an amazing acting ability,
and comic ability, and these two are at the top of their game,
in terms of combining both of those talents, and I just thought
that putting the two of them together would make for a really
interesting romantic comedy.

Q. What do you think of London?
A. I've been here a few times, including July last year, but
I live in New York and was born and raised there, so I just love
being in cities where there is a kind of energy and people walking
around, and theatre and that kind of stuff... so I actually love
it here.

Q. You said in the production notes that you couldn't think
of anyone else to play Philip Seymour Hoffman's character? Did
he see that as a compliment? And have you ever had a friend quite
like that?
A. Yeah, I realised I said that, and told Phil that I was
really sorry, but I did mean it as a total compliment. He's a
much better basketball player than Sandy is! I was just really
referring to his acting ability and I thought it would be really
fun, because we've never really seen Philip Seymour Hoffman in
this kind of comedy, and I thought he really had the ability to
do it.
So I meant it as a compliment, but I realised the character, once
I saw the movie, was such that this guy's probably really pissed
off that I said that!

Q. How many takes did it need to finally get Hank Azaria's
comedy French accent right, without too much inuendo or laughter?
A. There was a lot of cutting in that! He's just so funny
and his accent was so ridiculous. We were in Paris and they really
didn't care for it. I think it was a little too close to home.

Q. What did you like most about filming Along Came Polly?
A. You know, the whole process was very fulfilling for me,
just because we had such a great cast on the movie. Every day,
I think these guys made it so much better than I even imagined.
So, for me, it was really thrilling.